Karma is a difficult pill to swallow for many Western students of Buddhism. So, too, is rebirth. And, practically speaking, these two pills are inseparable. It’s hard to see how you can take one without taking the other—at least not without getting undesirable side effects. Both of these metaphysical pills are so difficult to reconcile with our modern, materialistic and scientific way of thinking that a growing number of European and American Buddhists are calling for them to be cast aside altogether. more...